Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ellington Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pasadena, Texas 77503
Saturday, October 22, 2005 19:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 2,358-hour commercial pilot and his passenger were in cruise flight approximately seven nautical miles north of the airport when the engine lost power. The pilot reported that he entered an autorotation and the helicopter impacted a petroleum coke mound. The helicopter subsequently tumbled down the face of the mound and came to rest on its left side. An FAA inspector performed an on-scene examination of the helicopter. According to the inspector, the helicopter's 46-gallon fuel tank was found to be empty at the accident site. Following the recovery of the wreckage, the inspector tested the fuel tank for leaks and none were found. The inspector stated that the last entry in the maintenance logbooks revealed the Hobbs meter was reading 366.1 hours, and the Hobbs meter at the accident site was reading 369.1 hours. During an interview conducted by the FAA inspector, the mechanic, who performed the last maintenance action prior to the accident flight, revealed that he had removed 44 gallons of fuel from the fuel tank and then placed the same fuel back into the tank after the required maintenance was accomplished. On the day before the accident, the pilot flew to an air show at another nearby airport, from where he flew an unknown number of short flights. Prior to departing the airshow for his home base, the pilot purchased an additional 15 gallons of fuel. On the day of the accident, the pilot flew from DWH to IWS, and then towards his final destination of EFD, when the helicopter lost power. Numerous attempts, albeit unsuccessful, were made by the investigator-in-charge to obtain a completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) from the pilot.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/22/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1900 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Pasadena |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77503 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 293616N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0950919W |
| Event Location Airport | Ellington Field Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KEFD |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 7 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 32 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1850 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KEFD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 32 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 32 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.76 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19170 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 24 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2006 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Houston, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N909BC |
| NTSB Number | DFW06CA013 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hiller |
| Aircraft Model | UH-12E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1626 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2005 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BUZAIR Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 207 Blue Willow Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Houston |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77042 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | James Hudson Paulin Jr. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 207 Blue Willow Drive |
| Operator City | Houston |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77042 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Air Race/Show |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KIWS |
| Departure City | Houston |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KEFD |
| Destination City | Houston |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 30 2005 10:58AM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |